THANK YOU, DONORS AND SUPPORTERS
$798,800 Awarded at 60th Annual Awards Ceremony to Class of 2025

Click for more pictures of 2025 awards ceremony

Thanks to the continued generosity and support of the Indian River County community, Scholarship Foundation awarded $798,800 in financial aid awards on May 12, 2025 at its 60th Annual Awards Ceremony held at Sebastian River High School Performing Arts Center. Forty-seven local students, including three recipients already in college and eleven high school seniors who will receive their AA degrees from Indian River State College, will receive 104 scholarships to study at 22 colleges and universities in 6 states.

The awards, which are based on financial need and potential to succeed in college, range from $4,000 up to $30,000, payable over 1, 2, 3, or 4 years —providing support to students through the time needed to earn a bachelor’s degree. The new recipients join 99 past recipients who are renewing scholarships received in prior years. Scholarship Foundation awards open pathways otherwise unavailable to our students. They allow a student to attend a four-year university in lieu of a community college, to work less so as to be able to pursue an additional major or get involved in a wider range of activities, and to dramatically reduce or eliminate student loan debt they would need to incur.

Richardson Scholar Awards Honor Brightest and Best

The presentation of the Richardson Scholar Awards is a highlight of each Awards Ceremony. Applicants must demonstrate significant need and meet the highest levels of achievement in academics, service and leadership. Nancy Richardson Luther presented the awards to 2025 winners: Sebastian River High School's Thomas Blais, who will attend the University of Central Florida and major in mechanical engineering while also pursuing an interest in film; John Carroll’s Mayra Fajardo, who will attend FSU and major in criminal justice and business management; VBHS’s Phat Ngo, who will attend Emory University with a major in finance and economics; and VBHS’s Anamaria Ramirez, who will also attend Emory, with a major in chemistry and human health to fulfill her passion toward helping others.

The Richardson Awards were established more by Nancy’s father and mother and continued to be supported by Nancy and her sisters Sandy Kahle and Susan Hopkins. Her father Dan K. Richardson, along with members of the Vero Beach Rotary Club, founded Dollars for Scholars (the predecessor of Scholarship Foundation) in 1965. The family began offering the Richardson Scholar Awards in 1985 to “seek out and nurture potential decision makers who will have a future impact on our country and the world.” Since then, more than 130 graduating Indian River County students have been been honored as Richardson Scholars.

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Why Scholarships Matter - An Alumnus Perspective

The speaker at this year's Award's Ceremony was Cameron Dawson, a 2013 graduate of Vero Beach High School and recipient of SFIRC’s David M. Schuble Family Scholarship. Cameron earned his undergraduate degree in biology with a minor in Spanish from Florida State University in 2017 and a graduate degree at Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry in 2022. For the past three years, he has been serving the Vero Beach community as an optometric physician, working in a local private practice as well as a community health center, providing comprehensive eye care to a diverse group of patients. Prior to returning to Vero, he gained valuable experience working at the Orlando VA Medical Center, where he was proud to provide eye care to veterans.

At the ceremony, Cameron talked about his college journey, explaining that "the road to get to this point in life was tough. But I stand here now 3 years out of school happier than ever. I have a career that I love so deeply. I wouldn’t trade the journey for anything because it shaped me in more ways than I can imagine." He reminded the students that " the road ahead won’t be easy, but it will be worth it” and urged them to “stay focused. Ask for help. Have fun. Enjoy this time in your life. And don’t ever underestimate your ability to adapt, grow, and succeed—even when things feel impossible.”

He closed with his thanks for those who helped him get where he is today. "I would like to take a moment to thank you all for being here and getting to hear my story. Thank you to the Scholarship Foundation of Indian River County and all the scholarship sponsors. And a big thank you to Ms. Soozi Schuble and her late husband Mr. David Schuble [his scholarship sponsors] for their dedication to our community and unwavering support throughout my college career."

Why Scholarships Matter - A Parent's Perspective

I am a single mom of four boys (ages 24, 21, 18 and 9) who moved from New Jersey to Sebastian, Florida almost 10 years ago. For as long as I can remember, my goal, aside from praying my boys would grow up to be healthy and happy young men, was for them to get through college DEBT-FREE. There were many sleepless nights when I would think how I was going to afford to put them all through college. I had no idea how I would do this. As they grew, all too quickly, I stressed the importance of a good education. They were always well-rounded boys, between school, sports, clubs and band. Every single quarter of every single year, their report cards showed mostly A’s, and once in a while, a few B’s. What a proud mom I was/am!

Fast forward to the senior year(s) at Sebastian River High School of the 3 oldest (2016, 2018, and 2022). Each of my boys applied for a multitude of local scholarships, including from the Scholarship Foundation. Besides winning awards at the school’s scholarship nights, all 3 boys were awarded VERY generous scholarships from the Scholarship Foundation, affording them educational opportunities of significant proportions.

My oldest son, Eric, graduated University of Central Florida in 2020, with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a minor in music. Upon graduating, he worked at Kennedy Space Center and other major construction venues in Orlando. He was DEBT-FREE upon graduation!

My second son, Evan, graduated UCF in May, 2022, with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. Evan has accepted a position as a third grade teacher in Seminole County. I cannot WAIT to see the positive impact he has! Evan, too, was DEBT-FREE !

Lucas, my third son, graduated Sebastian River HS in May, 2022 in the TOP 10 in his class! He will attend UCF with a major in business. If all goes according to plan, I am confident that he will also graduate DEBT- FREE!

All these boys worked part time jobs throughout their latter educational years, but their DEBT-FREE status would not have occurred without the beyond-generous scholarships from the Scholarship Foundation.

When my boys were younger, my mom told them: “Always remember to shoot for the moon, for the worst that will happen is you will miss, and fall amongst the stars”. What words to live by!! When she would begin to recite this quote, wherever we were, or whatever we were doing they would always finish it! To this day, they still remember that!

So, again, I just want to extend a heartfelt “thank you” to the Scholarship Foundation and its many benefactors. Hands-down, you were extremely instrumental in having all of my boys hit their individual “bullseye”. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I will forever be grateful to all of you!!

Lisa Bush